Shop owner turns crafting hobby into business venture

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sheila Pruitt looked down at the rhinestone crown charm on her flip flops and shook her head smiling.

"I didn't even own that many pairs of shoes until we started carrying them," said the owner of Bedazzle as she walked toward the store's new shoe room.

The freshly painted green walls of the back room complement the black and white checkered floor that's stacked with shoe boxes and uniquely designed flats and flip flops that Pruitt said continue to be the boutique's big seller. A shelf at the front of the store is dedicated to the sandals that are designed to mesh with area high schools, carrying charms that resemble Midland High's bulldog and ribbons that mimic the color of Lee High's uniforms.

Since she and her husband Roger Pruitt purchased the store in November they've been transforming its inventory and putting their own touches on the shop, though now that her shoe room is complete Pruitt said they'll probably calm their remodeling efforts for awhile.

Owning a store, she said, was never something that had crossed her mind until her husband saw it go up for sale and suggested they take over.

"I've always loved crafts and different things," she said. "Never thought about owning a shop."

But, she said, bringing her unique styles into the store that now carries beaded hats, brightly colored purses, clothing and a variety of other gifts that can be personalized upon purchase was admittedly easier than she'd anticipated.

When the couple bought the store it carried mostly business suits, plus sizes and other gifts, Pruitt said. They re-painted some surfaces - leaving the wall's zebra stripes that match much of the inventory - and replaced most of the business suits with unique tops, dresses and other pieces for juniors and women.

The hallway fondly known as the "Gift Alley" has been expanded and new vendors have been brought in that have each decorated their corner to sell everything from personalized canvases and towels to children's clothing, candles and one-of-a-kind home decorations.

Roger Pruitt has carved his own spot in the hallway for Western-style gifts and Sheila Pruitt has filled the back corner room with customized children's furniture she creates, including a tall hot pink dresser with zebra-striped fabric covering the drawer fronts.

"Oh I love the changes," said Sheri McInturff, who sells custom canvases, crosses and children's designs at Bedazzle. "It seems like traffic has really picked up and so the response has been really good."

Though it'd be difficult to debate the store carries unique items, Sheila Pruitt said for her, customer service is the most important thing.

"I love the customers," she said. "I want the customers to feel very good when they leave."

One customer, she said, comes in nearly every week, finds something she likes and then puts it on hold only to arrive at home and call the store to tell Pruitt she's made up her mind up that she does want to purchase the item.

McInturff said she often finds something to bring home when she's in the store and said she regularly teases her daughter who works there that the Pruitts should just keep her paycheck since she spends so much of it on merchandise.

Others say they like the shop because it gives them a way to buy personalized gifts, like the dance bag one grandmother purchased that she was able to have stitched with her granddaughter's name, "Hope."

"You get attached to 'em," Pruitt said of her customers.

So unless her accountant alerts her they've entered the red, she said, she'll continue opening up each morning - and being sure to lock the doors when she's remodeling as she's found customers will wander in to shop even if she's stripping the floors up front.

"I never thought that this was me but it is," she said, standing behind the cash register.